LITTLE ROCK  A high school senior at eStem in Little Rock has been selected to appear on the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament, the popular quiz show said.

Leonard Cooper, 16, is set to fly to Los Angeles next week after being picked as one of 15 contestants from nearly 10,000 teens who applied.

The winner of the teen tournament receives a $75,000 grand prize.

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek called the teen edition of the show his "favorite event of the year."

"Our teen contestants bring a burst of energy to the set, and their unique mix of candor and intelligence makes me excited to see what this year's group has in store for us," Trebek said in a statement.

Contestants were narrowed down from a pool randomly selected from those who passed a 50-question online test. The final 15 were picked after auditions consisting of another test, an interview and a mock game.

The tournament will be taped next week and will then start to air Jan. 30.